WASHINGTON DC – The White House released a statement Monday announcing President Joe Biden is taking action to “strengthen American democracy and protect the rule of law” by calling for several reforms.
In recent years, the White House explains, the Supreme Court overturned long-established legal precedents, endangering fundamental rights such as civil rights protections, a woman’s right to choose, and granting immunity to Presidents prosecuted for crimes they commit in office.
The White House noted recent ethics scandals involving some justices which have caused the public to question the integrity and independence of the Court to carry out justice for the American public.
In the words of the White House statement, “President Biden believes that no one–neither the President nor the Supreme Court–is above the law.”
Three reforms presented by President Biden aim to restore “trust and accountability” in the American Justice System: Eliminating immunity for crimes a former president committed in office, term limits for Supreme Court Justices, and a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court.
The first reform listed by the White House calls for a constitutional amendment that states no president is above the law or immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office, and will state the Constitution does not confer immunity from federal criminal indictment, trial, conviction, or sentencing by virtue of previously serving as President.
The second reform, “Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices,” is based on President Biden’s belief that term limits, such as the one for the Presidency, should apply to Supreme Court Justices; he supports a system where a Justice is appointed by a President every two years to spend 18 years in active service.
These limits, according to the White House briefing, would ensure the Court’s membership changes regularly, making timing for Court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary, and reduce the chance that any single Presidency imposes under influence for future generations.
The third reform is a code of conduct for the Supreme Court, based in President Biden’s view that Congress should pass enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves when there is a case where their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.
The White House statement argues that this code of conduct is applied to every other federal judge, and Supreme Court Justices should not be immune to these standards.
According to the White House brief, President Biden and Vice President Harris are working with Congress and the American people to empower Americans to prevent the abuse of Presidential power, restore faith in the Supreme Court, and strengthen democracy.
President Biden thanked the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the U.S. for its analysis of Supreme Court proposals, and the White House brief concluded by stating the Administration wants to ensure that no one is above the law, and “in America, the people rule.”
